June 16, 2009

"Of course it's accepted on behalf of young women, like my daughters, who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve....

"Letterman certainly has the right to 'joke' about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction. And this is all thanks to our U.S. military women and men putting their lives on the line for us to secure America's right to free speech — in this case, may that right be used to promote equality and respect."

LOL. I love the way our U.S. military women and men horned in on the big foofaraw.

By the way, it's disrespect that needs to be protected by rights. If what you want is wall-to-wall respectful discourse, fuck rights.

(Photoshop request: Unevolved Letterman — merge a photo of the lecherous geezer talk-show host with the face of an ape or caveman.)

189 comments:

Allah (PBUH) be praised. Mr. Letterman has magnified Allah (PBUH) by demonstrating the immorality and depravity of Sarah Palin who degrades her sex and race by working among men with her face uncovered and by raising daughters to be whores. Allah (PBUH) shall require recompense in the next life. But, praise to Allah (PBUH) that there are brave warriors like Mr. Letterman who will rail against such forms of modernity in this life.

why are you silent on the incredible events going on in Iran? I don't understand the rightwing's apathy toward what could very well be peaceful regime change. (and please don't pretend that you're not rightwing)

"Please don't tell me I should be blogging about some other subject. If you have a tip on what I should blog, email me at annalthouse (at) gmail (dot) com. Otherwise, express yourself. Be interesting. You can digress, but digress creatively. Amuse us!"

Palin should have learned it is her advantage to say the simple right-wing slogan without getting trapped into discoursing on it and showing her lack of thoughtful depth. And the same with learning it is smart to state you simply accept an apology and not verbally tie up the equivalent of your own noose and step into it.

Going without trying to use the apology as a stepping stone for her self-promoting political schtick. Now, because of a bad joke, the Right Wing Goddess is transformed into a champion of the sexually active and non-sexually active females under 18.

Then capping her vapidity off by somehow equating the soldiers in Iraq into being the only Americans somehow currently engaged in an effort for protecting 1st Amendment Rights in the USA..

Sigerson said...: I don't understand the rightwing's apathy toward what could very well be peaceful regime change.

They have been all over it for the last 4 days. Powerline, Aceofspades, gateway, Redstate, LGF, etc... all have numerous posts with thousands of comments and a number of arguments on the subject. You have to actually go visit them to see the extensive content.

Wow "The Left" really doesn't like a taste of its own medicine! Palin has commented on this three times, she can't help it that the State Controlled Media is focusing so heavily on her and trumping it up.

The mere thought that conservatives wield as much economic power as the Left and might figure out to employ it in pursuit of their politics the way the Left has scares the hell out of them.

Witness Jeremy's frantic scrambling...

Whether Letterman gets fired or not is pretty much irrelevant to me as his audience isn't terribly much larger than the paltry numbers that Obama's personal network, MSNBC, gets. What's more interesting is just how tolerance the "tolerant" Left has for seeing its own tactics used against it.

As for whether or not Letterman should be fired... that would be the best thing that ever happened to the guy's career. People would actually start watching him again. If you want to punish the guy, leave him on a show that 99% of the country doesn't watch. :)

"By the way, it's disrespect that needs to be protected by rights. If what you want is wall-to-wall respectful discourse, fuck rights."

True.

But protected speech doesn't mean it has to be approved speech.

There are enough people who honestly don't think that the right to free speech means the right to offensive or "hate" speech... and they will say so in support of actual legislation or speech codes.

Presenting that same thing... that free speech applies to approved speech only... but the other way around... that in order for it to be free speech people have to approve of it... it doesn't work. *Disapproval* does not violate free speech.

In order for there to be free speech, offensive speech must be protected.

Like when Obama's campaign called the Clinton's racist? And Ferraro racist? And were preemptively "outraged" at the future things that Republicans were going to say but hadn't said yet about how Obama didn't look like the guy on the money?

Jim - "Whether Letterman gets fired or not is pretty much irrelevant to me as his audience isn't terribly much larger than the paltry numbers that Obama's personal network, MSNBC, gets."

You don't know much about late night TV or where the real profits come from do you?

Letterman makes the network a massive amount of money because the show costs so little to produce and the advertising costs a fortune...probably why they pay him over 32 million a year.

At one point in time Johnny Carson produced 50% of the entire NBC profits with his show and his ratings were only bigger because of a lack of competition...and advertising at that time was much less expensive than today.

So she's shooting wolves from her helicopter again. The wolves had better evolve into humans or become Trophys hung on Sarah's wall. Frankly, Sarah's not trying to impress the mensa wing of the blogosphere with her media interview responses...she's auditioning for the role of Warrior Princess Presidential candidate. She has her eye on the correct prize,since our Professor has the other role locked up.

Imus spent years looking for trouble and it finally caught up with him.

He also doesn't bring in anything close to the kind of money Letterman does.

By the way, who here thinks Leno be fired for this:

"Gov. Palin announced over the weekend that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant. And you thought John Edwards was in trouble before! Now he has really done it.""The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," 9/2/08

LOL. I love the way our U.S. military women and men horned in on the big foofaraw.

That jumped out for me in her "acceptance" of his "apology".

The whole thing is a farce. Letterman was interested in creating an ongoing controversy for ratings, perhaps culminating in having Palin on the show to "make up". He's done that shtick with McCain, Oprah, Dr. Phil, Madonna and the Clintons.

It seems to me, Palin's primary interest was in making political points rather than protecting her daughters. She bested Letterman here (not so hard to do in this case) but I think she overplayed her hand by making extraneous points.

And thank you to Jeremy for again pointing out why it's unwise to let any slight go unanswered. If an insult is delivered "under the radar" it will be used as proof that no objection may be made in the future.

Garage? Conservatives learn slowly, but we do learn.

"Outrage" and hyper-vigilance isn't just necessary, it's demanded by the opposition.

I thought it was a great response. she appeared to be gracious while sliding the knife to the ribs and giving a shout out to the troops. You have to admire her technique.

And it should be noted that she is sitting right in that spot where feminism and social conservatism meets. Many feminists and most social conservatives are dismayed by the sexualization of women in our culture, especially young girls. You can find them making common cause against Playboy and Hustler. And Palin is right there. Sure, NOW won't ever endorse her to be dog catcher, even, but to the unaffiliated women I bet she is hitting all the right notes. Well played.

This is the real reason why the left hates and fears her: because she is actually pretty savvy.

Yes, the leftist attitude that the person who has had the first punch thrown at them is the one "getting into fights". Fits the theme of slander and whine about response. .

So, I guess you to complete the following sentence and could not:

"Sarah Palin is good at governing, which you can see by her accomplishments in...."

There is no end to that sentence!--------Sheepman: It seems to me, Palin's primary interest was in making political points rather than protecting her daughters. She bested Letterman here (not so hard to do in this case) but I think she overplayed her hand by making extraneous points. .

Agreed! She has these spats on a routine basis to pose as a champion of something besides her own ambitions.

Synova said..."And thank you to Jeremy for again pointing out why it's unwise to let any slight go unanswered. If an insult is delivered "under the radar" it will be used as proof that no objection may be made in the future."

why are you silent on the incredible events going on in Iran? I don't understand the rightwing's apathy toward what could very well be peaceful regime change. (and please don't pretend that you're not rightwing)"

I consider myself conservative, but I'm anything but apathetic toward this issue. A couple of salient points, though, if you would...

First, it simply doesn't matter who won the election. Iran is a control officially in the grip of a theocracy and they call the shots. Any civil authority is derived from them and they can just as easily take it away. Populist uprisings aside, I think this may be your average tempest in a teacup. Do I want them to break free and set up a secular democracy on the Iranian people's own terms? Yep.

Second, we're mostly waiting to see how the President is planning on handling it. Logically, he's correct in saying that given recent decades, any active US involvement may be counterproductive. But this is, honestly, weaksauce. Besides, when is the last time politics worked from a base of logic? The US needs to actively, even if covertly, assist the opposition at this point.

And third, though this won't be popular if the phrase "blood for oil" has ever cross your lips or fingers, GWB (even though I'm a huge critic) gets credit here. The invasion allowed the creation of a fledgling democracy next door in Iraq. Even the Lebanese are giving him credit for the effect the reality in Iraq had on their recent elections.

Jeremy...You are on. When Sarah is nominated, then you donate $100 to her campaign. If she is not nominated, then I will donate $100 to the political candidate of your choice. This is like betting on golf, it makes you concentrate on the next shot. Your shot.

the gorilla thing is terrible if true and it its all its cracked up to be. care to provide a link?.

No one could have predicted we'd get daily updates on the Letterman saga and nary a mention of a Gooper comparing an escaped gorilla to Michelle Obama. That's Instapundit straight down the middle I tell you. Sensible. Moderate. Serious!

Professor, do you actually like these sorts of distasteful jokes and character assassinations? You seem to routinely defend things like Letterman's offensive joke and the boorish (at best) behavior of the AutoAdmit cretins. It's one thing to defend their right to say such things (Letterman certainly was engaging in Constitutionally protected speech), but another entirely to determine that there's really nothing wrong with it, and those who oppose it are just uptight.

Jeremy, you're still not listening to Mommy. I will beat the ever loving shit out of you if you don't get off that computer and get to the package store to get Mommy her Pall Malls and case of Schlitz. GET THE FUCK GOING!

Sarah Palin really needs attention. Doesn't she have a job to do somewhere or has the Alaska Governor historically been the police for late night comics?

How much time do you think it takes to put out a statement or answer one question, AL? I mean, it’s not like she’s been doing the talk show circuit, has she? (If she has, I’ve missed it). If I had a 14 year old and some creepy old man decided to talk about her sex habits, I think I could fit 10 minutes in my day to call him an asshole.

Stop talking to Shanna, Jeremy. What did Mommy teach you about strange women? Now like I said earlier, run on down to the package store like a good boy. You know how I get when I'm out of smokes and hooch

No one could have predicted we'd get daily updates on the Letterman saga and nary a mention of a Gooper comparing an escaped gorilla to Michelle Obama.

I haven’t heard of this until now, but it’s not exactly surprising that the Letterman thing would get more press. He’s a nationwide public figure who has been on the air for 20 years. There is video tape of his comments, and he has pseudo apologized twice, prolonging the fervor. I have no idea who this goober in SC is, but if he said something racist he’s a jerk.

Synova said..."And thank you to Jeremy for again pointing out why it's unwise to let any slight go unanswered. If an insult is delivered "under the radar" it will be used as proof that no objection may be made in the future."

Yep, Synova. The Leno thing just got lost in the muck (although at least it was actually funny, unlike the Letterman joke. I give more leeway to inappropriate jokes that are funny).

I hope Palin's cooch isn't too stretched out from popping all the kids out. That would be my only concern. Or if it was stretched out I hope she had a coochieplasty surgery to tighten it back up so it can grab a hog hard.

The odds are good that North Korea and Iran are working together to produce missiles with nuclear warheads in the next couple of years. That's not going to change.

When Bush was in office there was a brief window of opportunity to attack Iran's nuclear program, but that window has been slammed shut by the Democrats.

The Iranians are not going to change, and certainly they are laughing their asses off at the pathetic ramblings of our President as he twists in the wind. They can certainly see that he and his administration are weak and way out of their depth in statecraft.

I fully expect a nuclear attack on Israel and possibly Japan by the end of Obama's first term.

You have to forgive my Jeremy. When he was 9, I let him attend gay pride wearing the "Relax" t-shirt we got at a Frankie Goes to Hollywood concert. My husband said Jeremy would be fucked up as a result, and he was right.

"No one could have predicted we'd get daily updates on the Letterman saga and nary a mention of a Gooper comparing an escaped gorilla to Michelle Obama. That's Instapundit straight down the middle I tell you. Sensible. Moderate. Serious!"

Or is it rather that everyone defending Letterman, including himself, dragged it out for a week while anyone who even hears of the "Gooper" using "Michelle" and "gorilla" in the same sentence issues a denouncement. Without an argument what's to keep it in the limelight?

I said at the time... what's so very hard about a simple statement that the children of politicians are off limits and Letterman's "joke" was inappropriate? And if his true apology was issued immediately instead of another very rude joke... would we still be talking about it at all?

Or is it rather that everyone defending Letterman, including himself, dragged it out for a week while anyone who even hears of the "Gooper" using "Michelle" and "gorilla" in the same sentence issues a denouncement.

Exactly. It's hard to drag out an argument when no one disagrees.

Try reading.

Heh. What am I supposed to be reading? The scholarly journal of Sarah Palin talk show appearances? A brief google was not informative and that’s really all the time I’m willing to commit to searching this out. If you actually know of some talk show she was on yesterday you could just actually say it!

Jim Howard said..."The odds are good that North Korea and Iran are working together to produce missiles with nuclear warheads in the next couple of years. That's not going to change."

Show me a reputable report from any military experts who believe this. The last missile North Korea fired went directly into the ocean and the Iranians have never shown the ability to do anything you suggest.

You're just spouting the standard right wing talking points we can hear every day from the fear mongers on Fox.

Sarah Palin is no longer the most popular governor in the country. That title now belongs to Connecticut Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell. Rell has a 70% approval rating (4.10.09). Connecticut has five times the population of Alaska.

Particularly as part of her duties as governor of Alaska is to do everything she can to keep ANWAR in the public eye and lobby to get restrictions on drilling moderated, which she was definitely on about in the single news interview I saw... was it with Hannity?

Oh, Jeremy. You don't have to play mental dress-up on here. Mommy will let you wear the panty hose again. Just run down to the package store, get my Pall Malls and Schlitz, and you can play with anything in my closet. NOW GET THE FUCK GOING!

OMG... Sarah Palin was on a grand total of two news shows, granted, soft-news, but hardly Opra or Letterman or "The View"... still, I suppose that "two" is probably the minimum for something to be a "circuit."

I wish Todd had accepted Letterman's invitation. I'd have paid to watch that. 'Cause I think Todd would have given David a quick lesson in manners, Alaskan style. Then they would have both gone to the hospital -- Dave to get his ass fixed and Todd to get his shoe back.

I suspect that CBS would have tried to edit that out of the tape, but I'll bet a year's salary that someone would post it on YouTube, where it would go viral in a day.

I need to check out the full text of Sarah's remarks. I sort of like the "evolved" bit, but I think she needs a better speechwriter overall because the "men and women of the armed forces is a bit over the top."

But Sarah certainly had a point -- a man who would think what Letterman said was funny does not deserve to be classifed as a 21st century male h. sapiens.

Oh, Synova. Just ignore my son. He's bad with people, and being here just makes him furious. You should see how his little eyes get even more narrow and his little hands type so fast trying to search Google for any quote or little factoid. It's just him, his computer and me - Mommy.

Meanwhile, Mommy needs her sauce and smokes so GET OFF YOUR FAT ASS JEREMY AND GET DOWN TO THE PACKAGE STORE

Jeremy, my sweet princess. He really hates it when we call him that. But he has such soft, supple, girlish pink lips, we could never help it. Jeremy, do be a good princess AND GET MOMMY'S CIGARETTES. NOW PUSSY!

Bunny - Indigo Journal, a liberal blog in South Carolina, reports that GOP operative Mike Green posted a racist joke about President Obama on his Twitter account over the weekend -- and in a brief conversation with TPM, Green did not deny it. (Late Update: Green has now admitted it in a new set of Tweets, and apologized. See new section after the jump.)

Green posted this, then deleted it some time later:

JUST HEARD OBAMA IS GOING TO IMPOSE A 40% TAX ON ASPIRIN BECAUSE IT'S WHITE AND IT WORKS.

The apology:Then this:

I sincerely apologize for the comments I made on Twitter yesterday. I made a mistake.

And finally, this:

I realize that my comments were hurtful, wrong and have no place in civil discourse.

Bunny - Indigo Journal, a liberal blog in South Carolina, reports that GOP operative Mike Green posted a racist joke about President Obama on his Twitter account over the weekend -- and in a brief conversation with TPM, Green did not deny it. (Late Update: Green has now admitted it in a new set of Tweets, and apologized. See new section after the jump.)

Green posted this, then deleted it some time later:

JUST HEARD OBAMA IS GOING TO IMPOSE A 40% TAX ON ASPIRIN BECAUSE IT'S WHITE AND IT WORKS.

The apology:Then this:

I sincerely apologize for the comments I made on Twitter yesterday. I made a mistake.

And finally, this:

I realize that my comments were hurtful, wrong and have no place in civil discourse.

AL, can you define for us "GOP operative?" The idiot in SC who made the racist twitter post is, according to the article, not employed by any Republican politician or organization. So, a more accurate headline would be "Random Douchebag on Twitter Apologizes for Racist Tweet." Seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with the GOP, and no relevance to anything. It is hard to believe that Talking Points Memo would spin their headline though. You know, because they're such a credible source of information. Good work all around, AL.

He will do the research for you, Dust Bunny Queen. My Jeremy doesn't have much else to do but this. But MOMMY NEEDS HER SMOKES, so put down the mouse, put on your pumps and GET YOUR PALE WHITE ASS TO THE PACKAGE STORE, JEREMY!

Interesting point about fox broadcasting, but i don't really see the support the conservatives give the news channel rallying behind fox tv.

I think it all shows that rupert isn't a conservative, so much as a libertarian and a bit of a hedonist, and before all of that, a capitalist. As one wag put it about fox news, leave it to murdoch to find a niche market that previously hadn't been served: half of america.

as for the link, normally i don't consider huffpo to be a reliable source (and forget thinkprogress--I have caught them in outright lies), but i will make an exception. yep, sounds like he has some explaining to do, and i think its almost impossible to come up with any explanation that would be good enough.

although i will also say this. i call people ape-men and the like all the time, and it is an equal opportunity thing with me. I have commented that Issaac Asimov and Stephen King look like something out of Planet of the Apes, just off the top of my head. What is odious is the exclusive association of black people with apes, in some people's minds. The best scientific evidence says we are all descended from apes, and all resemble them to some degree. Someday the rest of us will get over race to the point that our children, or grandchildren won't even understand why this is an issue.

So, a more accurate headline would be "Random Douchebag on Twitter Apologizes for Racist Tweet."

Also, both were posted on social networking sites, not said on national tv. They're still jerks, but nobody denies the existence of jerks in this country. It's stretching to try to pretend these comments and Letterman are at the same level.

Also, it sounds like they are both in SC. Is someone in south carolina hardcore monitoring everyone's social networking sites this week? Kind of odd.

When this episode began, I thought Palin and the GOP were making a mistake politicizing what was just a late-night host's joke. But I can see I was way wrong. Palin's seemingly authentic reaction has revived her career -- ironically by her staking a claim to the role of feminist leader. Old-school 1970s feminism to be sure -- no tortured deconstructionism a la Naomi Wolf for her -- but still, someone conservative women can rally around as speaking for them better than the males who dominate the GOP.

Of course her anti-choice views bar her from being accepted as a feminist by many. But my guess the population cohort of pro-life feminists is pretty large, and now Palin owns them.

By the way, she's not "bailing" on serving as governor of Alaska. She's been noncommittal about running for another term. Bailing isn't the right word for choosing not to run for re-election.

XWL writes on his blog about really loving Letterman as a kid. When I first discovered "Late Night" I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. I remember talking to kids at school about it, many if whom thought it just weird or boring. Anyway, agree with XWL: screw 2009 Letterman.

When this episode began, I thought Palin and the GOP were making a mistake politicizing what was just a late-night host's joke. But I can see I was way wrong. Palin's seemingly authentic reaction has revived her career

Yeah, playing the victimization card sure worked for Carrie Prejean in the end. Sarah's sure to ride her faux outrage and incoherent rants right to Pennsylvania Ave.

Of course her anti-choice views bar her from being accepted as a feminist by many. But my guess the population cohort of pro-life feminists is pretty large, and now Palin owns them.

Not necessarily, John. You assume, wrongly, that abortion is the central be-all end-all issue for feminists or for conservative women. I consider myself to be all of the above a conservative feminist woman who is moderately pro choice and actually fairly ambivalent on the issue. Have an abortion. It's your choice: just don't expect me to fund it with my tax dollars.

I admire Palin as a feminist (old school) because of her accomplishments without having to ride in on the coat tails of a man as has Hillary and Michelle. I don't always agree with her religious views or all of her statements. However, she has done a damned fine job of competing and holding her own in a distinctly male occupied profession yet has not lost her femininity or sacrificed her family in the process.

You all must understand that my Jeremy is really a good boy. But when he was 15, he went on a date with a girl named Sarah. She discovered he only has one half of one ball, and the dated ended quickly and badly with her screaming at a Fuddruckers that my Jeremy is a fat eunuch. Who wouldn't lash out at anyone named Sarah after that?

Why are you egging him on then? My Jeremy can't stand Sarah Palin or any other "Sarah" for that matter because of what happened to him before. He's got so much pent up anger from that, and he's got sexual frustration since he can't even masturbate, having only one half of one ball and all. And then you all mock him, torture him, and anger him mercilessly.

"Yeah that’s right, the military. She weaves the military into her apology acceptance. Perhaps only once in a generation can a trashy politician stretch ambition and shamelessness into this large a surface, a playing field, on which to act like an idiot. Here she has thanked the United States Military, the fine folks fighting the Taliban and stuff in various Middle East wars, for achieving its “real” overseas goal, which was to “secure” part of the First Amendment from the terrorists — one of them was keeping the little scrap of paper in his pocket — so that David Letterman and Sarah Palin could legally bicker about baseball sex jokes on teevee and Facebook for a couple of weeks.

"But here’s a different question: Why does Sarah Palin treat her 14-year-old daughter, Willow, like a piece-of-shit Nerf shield? That’s the real story. Willow’s mother, Sarah Palin, thinks of her young, impressionable daughter as nothing more than a six-month-old McDonald’s bag, reeking of moldy onions, found under the car’s front seat when she’s desperately searching for something to vomit in after downing 20 Crown Royal & gingers, and meth, at eight in the morning.

"Because obviously Letterman was making a joke about Bristol Palin, the girl who famously got “knocked up” last year, and not about 14-year-old Willow, who did not. Sarah Palin understood this, guaranteed, and then chose to launch a desperate publicity stunt about how an OLD MAN wanted to RAPE the 14-YEAR-OLD daughter WILLOW. Surely Willow loved seeing her name plastered all over teevee and the Internet like this. Thanks Mom! Go Mom, 2012!"

Oh, more than anyone, my Princess Jeremy knows that abstinence doesn't work. We tried birth control pills laced with thalidomide. While that doesn't explain him having one half of one ball (that was the botched circumcision), it does explain the stumps below the knees.

DustBunnyQueen - you would love to see how my Jeremy types on here uses google. His fingers are long and thin, and he has a disorder which results in long sharp witchy fingernails. The children in the trailer park may call him The Stumpy, Obese, Mostly Asexual, Wicked Witch of the Park. But I call him Princess Jeremy - Mommy's very special boy.

I don't think that Gov. Palin resurrected her national political career, because I don't think she ever gave it up, and she has not faded all that much from the limelight.

What had to happen was the edge had to be removed from the general perception of her provided by the MSM, the Obama campaign, and the leftist netroots. And that hasn't totally disappeared, but I think is somewhat tempered.

What she needs is some exposure, just too much, for the next year or two, so that she remains in our minds, without becoming overexposed (as our current President is getting). A blowout election in 2010 would be useful, so I see her running again for governor. Maybe.

I do expect that this sort of thing will continue. I think that she came out of this improved, at the expense of Mr. Letterman. But now that she is no longer part of a national campaign, I think that she can better time her moves.

This whole trip was planned, I think, around portraying Gov. Palin as a feminist, and Mr. Letterman fell into it, almost as if planned. She comes out with her credentials burnished, and he has his tarnished. All in all, a good trip.

So, yes, Letterman played his part, and so she was right in accepting his apology.

And add to that the non-trivial fact that there *was* a daughter at the game and it was *not* Bristol... and it is not obvious at all. Not even a little bit.

Perhaps Letterman's writers made an honest mistake and did, in fact, intend Bristol (as if that's quite all right then!) but to try to claim that there is anything *obvious* about which daughter was intended... it seems far more "obvious" to me that it was the one at the game... like the joke *said*.

Michael savage was also fired for an anti-gay comment. So by my count, that's 3 righties fired recently to zero lefties for gorilla speech. Jeremy steps in it again, and as always immediately sidesteps.

I think Letterman's was the worst, because it was not spontaneous. It was thought out, written down, reviewed, accepted, practiced and delivered, and to a larger audience.

Jeremy:Oh, then can I assume you're an asshole until you prove otherwise?

DBQ: "Absolutely :-D"

Jeremy:First time you've ever told the truth.

Asshole.

Oh Jeremy Jeremy, you completely misunderstood. You asked for my permission to assume that I'm an asshole and I gave you that permission. Go ahead.....assume away. There was no concession or admission.

Tuesday afternoon's "Fire David Letterman" rally proved to be a failure, as it drew more press than activists, CNN reports:

A crowd of 15 protesters upset with the late night comic held signs and occasionally shouted as they stood across the street from Letterman's studio.

Among the conservative talking points thrown around at the rally included, "Close the borders!" and "I only watch Fox News," as well as the general sentiment that Jay Leno is a better host than Letterman.